Little pleasures

Pictures are not only a way to capture and cherish life’s big events, but also the little pleasures. These were the fun moments of may…

The shy Belgian sunbeam fits perfectly with the Californian dish. It’s one of the 75 recipes in Absolutely Avocados by Gaby Dalkin. My copy is already on its way from the US!

A tric to eat more dark chocolate (not easy for a sweet tooth like me who prefers milk chocolate), is to sprinkle it over breakfast cereals. A perfect way to kickstart the day!

As you can read in this post I’m really into Finland and it’s design. Last year, friends gave me the big Alvar Aalto vase from iittala. I couldn’t resist buying the little one in the iittala shop in Antwerp. It’s in salmon pink, one of the trend colours for 2013.

And again Finnish…. The reason I went to Antwerp in the first place were these sneakers from the Marimekko for Converse-collection. I find it always very difficult to find elegant sneakers, but it was love at first sight when I got a press release about this collection.  I bought them at Moose in the city: a very nice shop for all things Scandinavia.

Having a lack of inspiration to find an appropiate gift for someone I stumbled upon a chocolate shop in Antwerp. The (Belgian!) chocolate of Starbrook Airlines is wrapped in an aviation inspired packing.  The chocolate is sold worldwide in airports. The shop in Antwerp is the first one situated outside an airport.

My house is one big work in progress. I’m still saving for a massive renovation project. In the meantime I try to withdraw the attention of the flows with candles, frames and these vases from a vintage shop.

For the past months I worked on a show about breakfast. The last episode focused on Japanese breakfast. The chef Ivan Verhelle of Tanuki in Bruges was so kind to demonstrate us the impressive meal Japanese people eat in the morning.  Ivan  is Belgian, but was trained in Japan and works with a Japanese staff. You can watch the episode here (Dutch). Btw: The picture of the toilet is just a funny detail. From the moment the toilet is flushed; water starts flowing from the tap.

Tapenade is a great way to use leftovers. I tossed all the ingredients on the picture (the crumble are roasted almond flakes) and ended up with a healthy spread.  This blog reminded me that it’s always good to have anchovies in stock because they fit very well in a tapenade.

My first “My Little Box”. A very nice concept. Unfortunately only available in France and Belgium, but you can check this website full of Parisian inspiration.